Gettin' Game
by Just Lil Ole Me
Summary: Embry's struggling to find his game...to catch his girl. He goes to his best source of manly advice for some suggestions. ONE SHOT!, AU


**Getting' Game**

_Let me not to the marriage of true minds_

_Admit impediments. Love is not love_

_Which alters when it alteration finds,_

_Or bends with the remover to remove;_

_O no, it is an ever fixed mark,_

_That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;_

_It is the star to every wandering bark,_

_Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken._

_Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks_

_Within his bending sickle's compass come;_

_Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,_

_But bears it out even to the edge of doom._

"Thank you, Mr. Call, very well read indeed." Mrs. Ashton nodded her elderly head in approval as she returned to flipping through her class notes to explain the meaning of this particular Shakespearean sonnet.

"Suck up!" Quil whispered, chuckling. Oh he would enjoy giving his best friend grief as soon as school let out.

"Whatever." Embry rolled his eyes.

"ZING!" Quil laughed again, earning him a glare from Embry. "Your Man card is gonna get pulled." He held his head in his hands to try to contain his laughter.

When their day was finally over, they walked home, Quil cackling and Embry brooding. Regardless of the Quil's incessant poking, Embry refused to explain why he was able to read that sonnet with such feeling.

"Fine, lover boy." Quil finally gave up. "I've patrol in a few. Don't forget to stop in to check in on Billy later. Jake is going to be out with me tonight."

"Sure sure…" Embry turned down the road towards his house, leaving his friend on the road wondering what was up with him.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Door's open, Embry!" Billy called over his shoulder before returning to his baseball game.

Embry strolled in, sniffing the air appreciatively. "Bella brought dinner over?" His eyes twinkled at that thought.

"She sure did. Chicken Alfredo! Go check out the fridge." Billy nodded, patting his happy, full tummy. "Bella found out that you would be coming over to give me a hand tonight so she made sure that she made extra and set you a portion to the side." He smiled. "That girl is going to make a fine wife someday."

Embry only smiled shyly in reply as he ducked into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, not only did he find his portion of the Alfredo, but she had wrapped a generous piece of double chocolate cake on the top with a note saying "For Embry, don't even think about touching this Jake!"

Chuckling, he grabbed a drink, a fork and his meal, carrying his second dinner to the living room to eat. Sitting on the couch beside Billy, he ate quietly, savoring Bella's cooking. By the time he finished his meal, his mind burned to ask Billy a question that had plagued him for some time.

"Billy, how did you…..I mean….it's hard to get a girl's attention so how did you…" He stumbled over his words, which was unusual. He never had a hard time talking with Billy over private stuff. He was the closest to a father he had ever had.

Billy's eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. "You mean how did I get Sara to notice me?" He shifted in his wheel chair to watch Embry closely. "Do you have a girl in your sights?"

"Um….well sort of….but I don't think she sees me at all." Embry replied, studying his last bite of cake like it was about to explain the mysteries of Life and the Universe at any second.

"Well…every man has a different approach. With me, it was my charisma. I imagine that you've seen it in action with Jake. He's a veritable Casanova." Billy chuckled. "He's the same as I was at his age."

Embry sighed. "Yeah, he can give that Black smile and the girls flock to him." He thought a bit longer. "Paul's a Don Juan, full of compliments and innuendos. Quil has humor and wit on his side, but I don't know what I have…"

Billy gave the situation some thought. "Like I said, every man is different, but I think I have a lead on what your approach is." He glanced at him. "Yours is emotion. You feel deeply, always have." He nodded. "You're a romantic, Em."

"So I won't lose my man card if I read or write a love poem for a girl?" Embry asked hesitantly. "Quil said my Man Card was in serious jeopardy after I read a sonnet out loud in class today."

"Since when did you start listening to Quil?" Billy shook his head as he wheeled himself over to his bookshelf, looking for something. "I think in your case that not every girl will appreciate your poetry, but those that do will be well worth your time and efforts." He handed Embry a very old journal.

"What's this?" Embry took the offered book, looking over its worn exterior.

"This is my grandfather's book of poetry, written in Quileute. I would have given it to Jake but let's face it, this is not his style. I want you to have it." Billy smiled, glancing over at something laying on the kitchen table with a twinkle in his eyes. "Why don't you recite that sonnet for me? I love Shakespeare too."

Embry began reciting the sonnet from memory, losing himself in the words and emotion. He was about halfway through before he was interrupted.

"That's beautiful." A feminine voice called from the doorway.

The men turned to find Bella standing in the doorway. She was in shock to find a shifter that enjoyed Shakespeare as much as she did.

"Oh…sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but I left my lit book on the table." She nodded towards the kitchen table. "I left it here accidentally. Got a test tomorrow…" Bella shrugged shyly.

Embry went over to the table, picking up her book to return it to her. "Why don't you let me walk you to your truck?"

Bella raised her eyes to look up at Embry as she took the book. "Thanks, I'd like that." She smiled. Embry inhaled deeply as his heart stuttered at her reaction. His hand lifted to brush through her hair in an intimate yet innocent gesture. Their newly created bond wrapped them in a haze of wonderment.

Billy could feel the pull between them from where he sat, watching as the pair exited out the door. He smirked. He finished the sonnet.

_If this be error and upon me proved,_

_I never writ, nor no man ever loved._

Grinning, he rolled himself to the bathroom to brush his teeth, whispering to himself. "God, I love it when I'm right!"

**A/N: The sonnet is 116 by Shakespeare. One of my personal favorites! :)**


End file.
